Tour (noun, verb) - A journey through a given list of places

I am often asked if I get tired of the travelling. Having toured with bands since leaving school, it has become a way of life for me and thousands of other live concert practitioners. This may be an obvious statement, but to facilitate a live performance someone needs to travel, whether that be the audience, the artist, or both.

Schedule and safety dictates how the band and crew travel. Availability and reliability determines how the public travels.
Inner city venues are already well versed in coordinating the end of gigs with public transport timetables, and show times are arranged accordingly.

Information is key. We have spent a long time gathering local public transport information and posting it on the radiohead website. Regardless of eco concerns, getting home safely is always going to be the priority. The best solution?  Better and later public transport links, more coordination between venues / promoters and local authorities, and ultimately, better public transport to entertainment venues.

Car sharing has become more popular.  Maybe its just due to the rising cost of fuel but, though better than driving alone, the sight of a full bike park at any of our shows would really make me smile.

Then we come to the band and crew. Picture the scene, black limo pulls on to the tarmac, flight attendant flashes a friendly smile and the star is swept from car to jet in one move. The reality is a little different. The benefits of flying, private or commercial, are rapidly disappearing. Higher prices, tighter security, and congested airways make air travel less convenient and more tiring.
Tour buses are by far the best way for crew to travel. These are regular 52 seat coaches that have been converted to a bus with lounges, bunks, toilet and a small kitchen (www.beatthestreet.net), enabling us to travel and sleep concurrently. It takes a little time to get used to, but after time one may even prefer it to a hotel room - the constant movement of the bus can be addictive.

In the planning of this tour, we looked into train travel and it became apparent that finishing work at 2am and needing to be in the next city at 7am did not fit with normal train timetables. A daytime journey would require an extended schedule (a day inserted between each show dedicated just to travel), which is not commercially viable.

Today, I was asked if we chose airlines based on their environmental policy? It does sound like an oxymoron, but in an industry where some air travel is unavoidable, it's not such a daft idea. Society is not going to give up the convenience of flying or driving, or travelling in general, so we should be campaigning for electric trains, more affordable hybrid cars, and cleaner burn planes.

Just one final thought, over the past couple of weeks the phrase "green washing" has entered my life -- the act of claiming to be more environmentally friendly, but not actually making a net improvement. Carbon offsetting, if done correctly, can be a viable route to follow; else it acts as a conscience clearer, and not much else.

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/carbon_offsetting.pdf